Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham has beaten other venues to the punch and stepped in to host England Boxing's Elite National Championships 2017.

Set in the former Templeborough steelworks, Magna is a family attraction with more than 100 hands-on exhibits. Millions of pounds have been invested in conference and events facilities at the centre which is operated by a charity, the Magna Trust.

Magna hosted England Boxing's Youth Championships and English Title Series in February, and the GB Youth and Junior Three Nations event earlier this month.

England Boxing is the national governing body for boxing. The England Boxing Elite National Championship, formerly known as the Senior ABAE Championship, was first staged in 1881. It is an annual competition which is widely considered to be the biggest event in the domestic amateur boxing calendar, and many of its champions, like Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Luke Campbell, Carl Froch, Joe Calzaghe, Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno have gone on to international and Olympic success.

The event at Magna will take place on April 21 - 23.

Previous venues include the Echo Arena in Liverpool, Wembley Arena and the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

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The event had been scheduled to take place in the south east of England with the quarter-finals and semis held at Basildon Sporting Village on Friday and Saturday and the finals taking place at the historic York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Sunday.

A switch was made after venues pulled out of hosting the event.

Earlier this year, the Junior Boxing Championship semi-finals, set to be held at the Basildon Sporting Village, were cancelled at late notice by the police on the grounds of safety based on information they had received.

England Boxing said in a statement said: "Basildon Sporting Village had been the intended location for the quarters and semis. No threats were made against staging the Elite National Championships in Basildon, however it became apparent in our dealings with the venue that it was reluctant to host the Championship, following recent events that led the local police to cancel the National Junior Finals that were due take place there in March of this year.

"In light of this and to avoid the possibility of the event being cancelled at short notice, causing massive inconvenience and disappointment to participating boxers and their families, England Boxing has decided to move the Elite National Championships finals weekend to the Magna Centre in Rotherham, which has successfully staged a number of our events in recent months and years.

"By proactively making the decision now to move the location of the Elite National Championships, England Boxing aims to remove any uncertainty surrounding finals weekend and looks forward to working with the Magna Centre and local partners to deliver a superb showcase of England's finest male and female boxing talent."